Shattered Hubris
by Indigo Hunter
Summary: In this mundane world, one could only wish that magic really existed.
1. Prelude

A young man glances out the window of his room, staring at the snow-covered ground below him. His long blond hair is especially tousled today, extending down past his jawline. As he sits, he twirls a strand around his stubby index finger, lost in thought.

The weather reports were poor, all schools in the area shut down for the day. He was glad for this though; his legs were the equivalent of cement blocks today. It was a seasonal thing that he's been plagued with since he was just shy of twelve.

For some reason, his mind kept drifting to a series of events in his life. All said events occurred at ages nine, ten, and eleven. The memories ranged from the best moments in his life to the worst. They were so fresh in his mind they might as well have happened yesterday.

To understand his thinking patterns, one has to understand his predicament. The poor thing came from a very wealthy family, close-minded to a fault. When his wonderful parents offhandedly criticized his introversion and sensitivity, he began to act out, awkwardly attempting to make friends … only to find ones that just wanted to use him.

When making friends didn't work out, he began to make himself untouchable and unlikable. Why even bother being himself when nobody would like him for who he was anyway?

His attitude garnered hostility from peers. Many would call him 'Buxaplenty,' as a bit of a pun on his wealth, despite his surname being 'Buckley.'

He never showed anyone how much it truly hurt his feelings.

He also remembers that boy, the fairy-obsessed one who would doodle stories and pictures of godparents who granted wishes and his adventures with them. When the head bully of the school got a hold of his stories and drawings, the news passed around like wildfire. But in spite of all the teasing he got for making those things, the blond found himself having a strange fondness for those fantasies.

He remembers that boy because, for a brief moment, they could have been friends.

The young man remembers the time when the boy kindly offered him to go to the arcade with him and his friends, in which he pompously rejected, acting high and mighty. Or the time after that he cut the boy and his friends in line to see "The Phantom Menace". His stupid inferiority complex, coupled with his paranoia, prevented any relationships from turning into friendships.

His paranoia has subsided quite a bit, being replaced with severe depression. Everyday he is plagued with immense guilt for acting like such a brat, and pushing away what could-have-been a genuine friend. There were times he wished that the world that boy created full of magic could be real, despite it's silliness.

Because frankly, this world was far too mundane.


	2. Present Day, Present Time

This was going to be such a hard day.

His back is on fire right now and it was the dead of winter. Camboro had a snow day yesterday, same with all the other schools in the district. It would have been just fine if it weren't for the fact that there was a report about what everyone had done during Christmas due yesterday and a test today. Why did they have to have awful weather the day after Christmas vacation ended?

Anyway, he started a brand new term with brand new classes. The aforementioned test he was taking was really more of a 'what did your little brain retain in the first half of AP Biology?' Still, he hates tests. He hates the way the system sets them up.

He really doesn't want to, but he has no choice but to get his 'scrawny ass' up as JJ would say. (JJ is his godfather, a real lady-killer. He's that rare adult that treats him as an equal.) As he rises out of bed, his back protests and his good eye is just not focusing very well. At least he was smart enough to set up his book bag at the foot of his bed this time. He was pretty sure it had everything he needed, hopefully.

Before he knows it he is in the shower scolding himself. He feels his legs are shaking from standing up for a prolonged period of time. He can hear shuffling on the other side of the wall; Liam was up. His room is right next to his bathroom so he can always tell. Oh, and Liam is his twin brother. Father likes to mix them up, even back when Liam was off at boarding school and he was home alone. Damn, his hair was past my jaw line now; he really doesn't care though despite mother's protests. After all, he knows his hair is beautiful. Have you _seen_ his hair? He doesn't even have to style it.

Okay, so he has his book bag, keys, he is dressed, and he has his wallet. The beauty of driving is being able to get going at what time you want to and do what you want to. He really wanted freedom, so he got his permit at fifteen and was driving the day after his sixteenth birthday. That was six months ago. He has a car, too. He's such a rich little bastard.

Now he's all set to go, except for the fact that he just realized that he forgot to take his drugs. He takes a scoop of water with a free hand at the bathroom sink and pops the two pills in his mouth. What are the pills for you ask? Well, none of your business.

/

The class was so quiet today. The holiday was pretty long after all. All around the room were countless teenagers with their heads on the table, heads in their hands, or heads looking down at their crotches and smiling (texting, silly). The writing on the board read 'Junior-Year AP English'.

"Good morning, my completely awake pupils!"

The blond's head shot up at the enthusiastic yell accompanied by the door opening abruptly. He smiled at the presence a little. Mrs. Hale had the tendency to make things very entertaining and fresh for her students. She was obviously somebody who loved her job. A small dose of good mornings was enough for her and she quickly went on to begin writing on the board.

"Okay, guys, so welcome back to your second dose of classes. And guess what? It's AP English time."

"Boo!" somebody yelled, obviously joking around.

"AJ, you are no longer teacher's pet!" she yelled before chuckling. "Now I know that this class can get dry, so I'm really going to try to make it as fun as possible, believe me guys. But before I hand out the syllabi, we're assigning seats. We're aiming to avoid any unnecessary chatting. So come on up and look at this nice little chart I made for you guys posted right here on the board."

"You're so nice!" a girl said with a grin.

"Aren't I? Alright, now get your butts up here."

Reluctantly, the teen got up before walking slowly over to the board with the rest of the class. So it was Kerris and Stark, Bennett and Skyler, Wilson and Daninski, Tang and Buckley—

He stopped at the sight of his name. Wait a second: Tang? As in Trixie Tang, the hafu he had known for practically ever? He couldn't believe it.

"Hey, Remy."

Remy turned around, "Trixie," he said out of acknowledgement.

"Looks like we're, um, sitting together," she said with a nervous grin.

"I thought you were too cool to take AP classes."

Trixie laughed. "I was just kidding when I said that, Remy!"

"I was just ruffling up your feathers a little," he said with a chuckle.

Noticing everyone was more or less seated, Trixie indicated their seats. "Shall we?"

"After you, ma'am," he said politely. Trixie laughed a little.

/

"So, how've you been?"

Remy looked to his side as they walked out of class. "Better. How about you?"

She rubbed her neck a little, "Okay. Same old boring routine."

He nodded, "I know what you mean."

There was a silence as they walked, and after a few moments Trixie stopped. Remy turned around and looked at her confusedly.

"Is everything okay?"

She shook her head, "It's just been a while since I last saw you. I don't think we've hung out at all since…"

"You can say it, you won't make me upset."

She sighed, "Since before you got reclusive. You know, when we used to be BFFs before you freaked out and started acting kooky. Then that stupid car wreck…"

"I'm not 'kooky' now, you know," he said.

"I know!" she snapped back defensively. "It was just we used to hang out at all those stupid dinner parties we were forced to go to. I remember I only wanted to hang out with you. Then you thought you had to prove something and started acting like a snobby brat and that's not you but you thought it was you and then I started hanging out with the it crowd and I hated it but I pretended to like it and—"

"Okay, I get it," he said firmly, cutting her off.

"Well, I'm sorry but I was just letting you know how I felt."

Remy gave a nod. "I'm glad you did."

"So…"

"We have different classes and we're going to be late."

Trixie deflated, before walking off in the opposite direction. Remy watched her for a second, almost reconsidering, but then went off his own way as well.


End file.
